1″x6″ Chosera Stone Straight Razor Microscope Progression

When it comes to honing razors, my go to stones are the 1″x6″ size. This is because many of the vintage razors out there have some sort of warping, smile, frown, or years of uneven hone wear that makes it very difficult for the full size stones to fix without either removing a lot of steel from the blade and/or causing a lot of unnecessary hone wear. Not to mention, the time and frustration it can cause, especially to newer honers. Simply put, the 1″ wide stone can do a better job in many of these cases, not to mention saving money, space, and having much greater portability.

With more people using the 1×6 stone size, I put together a micrograph progression of what an ideal bevel/edge looks like at each of the Chosera grits. The razor used was a Geneva Cutlery (NY) 1/4 hollow ground that was already in shaving condition. In the case of this razor, the average stroke count was approx. 150 alternating askew X-strokes. All pictures are taken on a Veho-400 USB microscope and the actual picture size is 0.75 mm tall by 1 mm wide.

1. Chosera 400

With the 400 and 600 Choseras, the edge is pretty even, but rugged. More importantly, if you look at the top ridge, it is actually pretty “thick”. So while it is even, it is still too thick to cut into arm hair with ease.

2. Chosera 600

The 400 and 600 Choseras are probably best for cleaning up deeper scratches from diamond plates and for repairs.

3. Chosera 800

The 800 Chosera is a bevel setting stone, as well as a transitional and repairing stone. Notice the bevel has a matte finish, and the ridge, while slightly wavy, is noticeably thinner – but still too thick for cutting hair. This edge will cut arm hairs with some pressure.

4. Chosera 1K

The 1K Chosera is a bevel setter, and can handle minor repair/touching up. The bevel is beginning to get smoother and brighter, and the edge of the edge is beginning to become more uniform. It is very important that the 800 and 1K stones are done as perfectly as possible to prevent more work at later stages. This edge will cut arm hairs with a little pressure.

5. Chosera 2K

The 2K Chosera begins to polish the bevel and refine the edge of the edge. The ridge line is still slightly rounded, but is much more uniform. More importantly at this stone, the bevel is not revealing any hidden deep scratches that will cause micro chipping later. This edge should cut arm airs with little to no pressure.

6. Chosera 3K

The 3K Chosera adds more polish to the edge, and brings out the bevel’s surface even more. The ridge line of the razor may look frayed some, but you are almost looking “into the edge” at this angle. This is the micro chipping effect, which is inevitable, but it is of the 1K and 2K scratch level, which will clean up. It may be worth adding more strokes to this level, or jumping down a level or 2 if there is too much fraying. This edge should cut arm hairs with little to no pressure.

7. Chosera 5K

The 5K cleans things up. there will always be an element of a frayed edge, but the line is very even and the depth of the frays terminate very quickly. You cannot do too many strokes at the 5K level. This edge should cut arm hair effortlessly, and it should feel like it shaves (I don’t recommend it, though!)

8. Chosera 10K

The 10K Chosera really brings a polish to the bevel and the edge is very consistent. Like the 5K, you really can’t do too many strokes on the 10K, but if you are getting frayed edges, you need to step to the 5K or back as far as the 1K, 2K, or 3K to clean them up. This edge should slide through arm hair effortlessly.

After this, you can strop and shave, or continue with further refinement.